When Feed Fabrik launched in version 1.0, it worked well for most people. But as users started adding more feeds, 50, 100, even 200+ feeds, we started receiving feedback about performance issues. Users told us the extension felt slow, especially when managing large feed libraries. The dashboard would take a few seconds to load, scrolling felt sluggish, and the overall experience wasn’t as smooth as we wanted.
We listened. Version 1.1 changes that completely.
What Changed
We spent the past few weeks rebuilding Feed Fabrik’s performance foundation. The result? The extension now feels instant, even with hundreds of feeds.
Here’s what improved:
Faster Loading The dashboard now loads in under a second, regardless of how many feeds you have. Before, it could take 3-5 seconds with a large feed library. We achieved this by only loading what you actually see on screen, not everything at once.
Smooth Scrolling Scrolling through hundreds of feed items is now butter-smooth. We implemented virtual scrolling, which means the browser only renders the items you’re currently viewing. Your feed list could have 1,000 items, but your browser is only drawing 20-30 at a time.
Lighter Memory Footprint Feed Fabrik now uses 90% less memory when handling large feed libraries. This means better battery life on laptops and less competition for resources with your other browser tabs.
Faster Feed Refreshes When you refresh your feeds, Feed Fabrik now fetches up to 5 feeds simultaneously instead of one at a time. That’s a 5x speed improvement, whether you have 10 feeds or 500.
Smarter Data Loading The extension now loads data more intelligently. Instead of making hundreds of small requests to check which items you’ve read, it now batches these checks into a single operation. This reduces overhead by 97%.
What This Means for You
Even if you only follow a handful of feeds, you’ll notice the interface feels more responsive. The UI was sometimes sluggish in version 1.0, even with just 10-20 feeds. That’s been addressed. For power users with dozens or hundreds of feeds, the improvements are more dramatic.
Large Feed Libraries Feel Responsive Managing 200 feeds now feels the same as managing 20. The interface stays responsive no matter how much content you’re tracking.
Better for Low-Powered Devices If you’re on an older laptop or a device with limited RAM, Feed Fabrik will run much better. The memory optimizations mean less strain on your system.
Bandwidth Savings The extension now only re-downloads feeds that have actually changed. If a feed hasn’t updated since your last check, Feed Fabrik skips the download entirely. This saves bandwidth and reduces server load for feed publishers.
Longer Battery Life Lower memory usage and more efficient processing means your laptop battery lasts longer when Feed Fabrik is running.
The Technical Side (Without Getting Too Technical)
We made about 18 different optimizations across the codebase. Here are a few that made the biggest impact:
Pagination and Virtual Scrolling Instead of loading all feed items at once, Feed Fabrik now loads them in chunks of 50. Combined with virtual scrolling, this dramatically reduces the work your browser has to do.
Code Splitting The extension now loads different parts of its interface separately. When you open the dashboard, it only loads dashboard code—not the code for settings or other pages you’re not using.
Intelligent Caching Feed Fabrik now remembers frequently accessed data in memory, so it doesn’t have to constantly re-fetch it from storage. This makes common operations 10-50 times faster.
Compressed Storage Your feed subscriptions and settings are now compressed before being saved. This reduces the amount of storage space needed by 50-70%.
Parallel Processing Many operations that used to happen one after another now happen simultaneously, taking advantage of modern browsers’ ability to handle multiple tasks at once.
Looking Forward
This performance work lays the foundation for features we’re planning next. Import/export improvements, better search, and enhanced feed management all benefit from having a faster, more efficient base to build on.
We’re also exploring additional optimizations for version 1.2, including improved feed parsing and even smarter caching strategies.
Try It Yourself
If you’re already using Feed Fabrik, version 1.1 should update automatically. If you’re new, you can install the RSS feed reader extension from the Chrome Web Store.
The best way to feel the difference is to add 50+ feeds and scroll through your feed list. It should feel instant and smooth, exactly how a modern feed reader should behave.
Behind the Scenes
These improvements didn’t happen overnight. They came directly from your feedback. When users told us Feed Fabrik was slow with large feed libraries, we took that seriously. We profiled the extension to find the bottlenecks, identified 18 specific areas for improvement, and systematically addressed each one.
We tested every change to ensure it actually improved performance without breaking existing functionality. The result is a faster extension that works exactly the same way you’re used to, just significantly quicker.
Your feedback drives Feed Fabrik’s development. If you have suggestions or run into issues, we’re listening.
Feed Fabrik is a privacy-focused RSS feed reader browser extension for Chrome and Brave browsers. All your data stays on your device, and the extension works completely offline once your feeds are loaded. Get Feed Fabrik from the Chrome Web Store.